I felt considerable trepidation when I first joined the ShowBeardies list. I was sure to be out of my league, surrounded by long-time competitors who could barely suppress snickers at the silly questions of trembling newbies. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Both Seamus's and Dinah's breeders are on the lists, as well as the breeder of Duncan and Doogie's father (whose dogs I have admired for a very, very, very long time). The breeder who owns Seamus's father (and who imported him from Germany 12 years ago) has not only been very helpful, but also has been sending me pictures of Dazs and other dogs in the "family."
I had first posted to the list to ask about registering Dinah in Canada, and to answer another question about Canadian microchips because I'd just called CKC about that very subject. Dinah is microchipped, but the chip used here in the US is not acceptable as a permanent form of ID in Canada because it doesn't conform to the ISO standard. This means that in order to register her in Canada, I would either have to drive the 4 hours to Montreal to get a second chip implanted, or have her tattooed.
Turns out that there is a second type of registration you can use if you and your dog live outside of Canada, but you want to show and earn titles there. It's called an Event Registration Number, or ERN. The ERN does not have the same ID requirements as "regular" registration, though it does have its limitations. If your dog whelps in Canada, the puppies are not automatically CKC registrable. (If they're born in the US, they can be registered.) Also, the Canadian titles don't automatically appear on their pedigrees. Since I'm not planning to breed Dinah for a long while if at all, the ERN will suit our purposes just fine.
